Raising Special Children

 Out of my 4 kids 3 of them have disabilities. It took a long time to figure out exactly what they had. They tried to tell me that 2 of them were ADHD and needed to be on medication. I said no to the meds until I learned more about ADHD. The more I studied the more I realized that they didn’t have it. The school kept nagging me to put them on meds and I kept refusing. I finally got the new school psychologist and their speech pathologist to listen to my concerns. They got together and looked over the kid’s school records and decided to do some testing again. This time they discovered that, yes, my kids did have attention problems but they weren’t ADHD or ADD, they had a thought processing disorder. They also told me that it was a good thing that I never put them on meds or it would have made it WORSE not better. I looked right at the principle and said, “See, I told you that I felt like putting them on meds wasn’t the right thing to do!” He, and the teachers in there (all pushing for meds) just looked at the floor in shame, but never apologized for their behavior (they had even called child protective services on me because I refused to put them on meds, made life hard for a long time).
 
As I researched this disability I found some information on hyperactivity, which my kids were overly active, and it told me that red dye and fillers in food can cause hyperactivity in kids. So, I took away everything with red dye (that was hard, I was surprised how many foods had it). My kids loved hot dogs and bologna so I learned how to make my own from whole wheat. The school called me in and wanted to know what meds I was giving my kids. I told them I wasn’t. They looked me in the face and called me a liar. I told them about the dietary changes I made and they told me that there was no way that those changes could make such a huge change in their hyperness. I told them I would be happy to sign a waiver for them to look at my kid’s medical records and they refused but continued to call me a liar. So, I talked to my kid’s doctor and asked him to write a letter to the school explaining that my kids weren’t on any medication and didn’t need any medication. The school accepted the letter but they told me that I was hiding something and they were going to find out what it was (child protective services came in again – and when they found that what I said was true, because I showed them my research, and they saw what I had in my cupboards and fridge, the school finally backed off).
 
Then there is child number 3 who has never been labeled with a disability because all the psychiatrists that have tested him can’t identify what it is. They would just tell me that some day someone would be able to identify it but for now they will call it ADHD, knowing full well it wasn’t that, just so he could get some help at school. Still, we don’t know what he has, but through trial and error we have been able to help him deal with it. It’s not without its challenges, but it’s better.
 
Raising children with disabilities is full of challenges and sometimes leaves a parent feeling like they are all alone in the process. Other people often are accusatory towards the parents like it’s their fault, and the schools often think they know more than the parents and try to force their ideas onto them, not caring what the parents feel is right for their child. Don’t face these challenges alone. Don’t let anyone convince you that the only help out there is a counselor and special education because I know from personal experience that that’s not true (after all they only have their interests at heart and not the child’s ~ most of the time). If you would like some added moral support and learn some ways to help you and your child succeed, please contact a transition specialist (aka life coach) like me.
 Call me, Boots at (505) 644-3950, or
email me at boots.transformsme@gmail.com
 
Believe you can
Overcome
Obstacles and experience
Transformational
Success
 
“You can’t rise from your circumstances without being in them first, and you can’t be in them if you don’t allow yourself to feel through them.”
                                          Unknown